My research focuses on understanding the role of genome size and polyploidy on the adaptation, distribution and evolution of plants, particularly angiosperms.

Plant diversity relies on changing traits of plants over evolutionary time. However, the molecular drivers of these changes are still unknown. At iDiv, I am working to discern the role of genome size, i.e., amount of DNA in the nucleus of a cell, as a major factor affecting trait and diversification change across plant lineages. Furthermore, I aim to examine how genome size variation relates to plant diversity, distribution, and adaptive potential to identify species vulnerable to climate change. This will support more efficient conservation strategies.

Find out more about my research here: www.sreetamabhadra.com

• October 2020 – Present sDiv Postdoc (individual grant) at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig; project: The impact of genome size on traits, adaptability and diversification in angiosperms; co-PIs: Dr. R.E. Onstein, Dr. Ilia Leitch
• September 2018 – August 2021 Post-doctoral Researcher (individual grant) at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; co-PIs: Prof. Alice Hughes, Prof. Akihiro Nakamura
• May 2017 – December 2017 Post-doctoral Researcher at the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Research supervisor: Prof. Martin Lysák
• May 2010 – June 2017 PhD at the University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India; PhD thesis: Cytological and molecular marker-based studies of Zingiberaceae for identification of some elite genera; Supervisor: Dr. Maumita Bandyopadhyay
• August 2009 – August 2012 Project Associate at the University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India; project: Database on Genome Related-information of Indian Plants (dGRIP; sbtju.in/Dgrip/index.html), Government of India as a part to develop Indian Bio-resource Information Network, Government of India; Project supervisor: Prof. Sumita Jha
• 2006 – 2008 MSc in Botany with specialization in Taxonomy and Biosystematics from Department of Botany, University of Calcutta, India
• 2003 – 2006 BSc in Botany from Vivekananda College, Kolkata, India under the affiliation of the University of Calcutta, India

Bhadra S, Leitch IJ, Onstein RE (2023) From genome size to trait evolution during angiosperm diversification. Trends in Genetics. 39(10):728–735. DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.07.006

Hughes AC, Than KZ, Tanalgo KC, Agung AP, Alexander T, Kane Y, Bhadra S, Chornelia A, Sritongchuay T, Simla P, Chen Y, Chen X, Uddin N, Khatri P and Karlsson C (2023) Who is publishing in ecology and evolution? the underrepresentation of women and the Global South. Frontiers in Environmental Science. 11:1211211. DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211211

Bhadra S, Cai ZQ (2020) Karyological variability and chromosomal asymmetry in highland cultivars of Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (Amaranthaceae). Caryologia. 73(3):33-44. DOI: 10.13128/caryologia-625

Sadhu A, Bhadra S, Bandyopadhyay M (2016) Novel nuclei isolation buffer for flow cytometric genome size estimation of Zingiberaceae: A comparison with common isolation buffers. Annals of Botany. 118(6):1057–1070. DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcw173

Bhadra S, Bandyopadhyay M (2015) Karyomorphological investigations on some economically important members of Zingiberaceae from Eastern India. Caryologia. 68(3):184–192. DOI: 10.1080/00087114.2015.1032607

Bhadra S, Ghosh M, Mukherjee A, Bandyopadhyay M (2013) Vivipary in Hedychium elatum (Zingiberaceae). Phytotaxa. 130(1):55–59. DOI: 10.11646/2942